The Students' Federation of India (SFI) is scheduled to host an All India Girls Convention in Rajasthan's Sikar from December 17. The three-day-long event aims to address social ills against women and young girls that have been exacerbated due to the COVID pandemic. The event will be inaugurated by the former Health Minister of Kerala KK Shailaja.
Hundreds of SFI activists are expected to take part in this bi-annual convention that was last held in 2017 at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. Dipsita Dhar, SFI's All India Joint Secretary, said, "We couldn't do it in because of the pandemic last year. This convention will be addressing the issues of the girls from marginalised sections who have been most affected since the pandemic."
In August this year, Educational Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that around 15 crore children are currently out of the education system. "A large number of girls have been forced out of the education system due the pandemic. There is a rise in the cases of forced marriage, sexual abuse, domestic violence. This is the right time to address such questions," Dhar said.
Dhar went on to claim that the National Education Policy 2020 further threatens to adversely impact the girl child education in India. "The first day of the convention will be a rally and then an open session with KK Shailaja." SFI's all-girls committee will also be releasing a report about the social-welfare activities it carried through the years and its plans for the future.
"Sikar was chosen because it was a very important destination for the farmers movement. A lot of mobilisation and female participation in the public movement happened there. We thought our activists could learn from the women there."
Will Anjali be part of this convention?
Just last week, a video clip of a 14-year-old SFI member from Karnataka's Gangavathi taluk went viral on social media. Anjali is heard talking fiercely against the local religious communities' demands for a completely vegetarian diet in government schools.
Anjali is heard saying: "You do not know the plight of the poor. We go to government schools because our families are poor...We need eggs and bananas. If not, we will come to your mutts (religious places) and eat eggs. Do you want that? You don’t, right?… Who are you to tell us (what to eat)?”
It is noteworthy that educationists have time and again advocated for eggs to be a part of midday meals because of its nutritional value and the longer shelf life. When asked if Anjali will be joining the convention, Dhar said, "We really wanted her to come but she is too young to travel all the way from Karnataka to Rajasthan. It wouldn't have been a problem if the convention was held near her hometown but we approached her parents and they said they cannot send her so far away."
Dhar added that Anjali is going to be one of the talking points at the convention. "She has been inspiring all our SFI activists with such political speech at a young age."
